Lakewood Couple Faces Kidnapping Charges

A Lakewood couple has been charged with allegedly kidnapping an Israeli citizen who lived in New York in an attempt to force the victim to finalize a messy divorce with his wife.

David Wax, 49, and his wife, Judy Wax, 47, were taken into custody by FBI special agents after they surrendered to the authorities in Red Bank Monday morning, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's New Jersey Office.

Both are charged with kidnapping, and David Wax faces an additional charge of making a threatening phone call. The couple will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Arpert in a Trenton federal court Monday afternoon, the release states.

According to authorities, the victim, identified only as Y.M.B. in the complaint, and his former wife, identified as C.D.S., were in a custody battle in an Israeli Rabbinical Court last year.

The victim was unwilling to consent to the divorce, known as a "get" under Orthodox Jewish Law, and relocated to the U.S. during the proceedings.

On Oct. 16, 2010, the victim, who lived in New York, was invited to the Wax residence on what he was led to believe was a business meeting. The complaint states that Y.M.B was then led upstairs and grabbed by "two unidentified males." He was then blindfolded and bound by his arms and legs.

A man identified as David Wax then told the victim "that he will give the divorce without receiving custody of his children," according to the complaint. Y.M.B was then kicked in the ribs and shown a body bag, which he was told would be used to bury him in the Pocono Mountains if he did not comply.

The assault, the complaint alleges, lasted for "multiple hours," during which time the victim was forced to give verbal consent to the divorce.

According to the complaint, the victim heard one of the attackers say that the beating was revenge because his former wife "was angry that the divorce was delayed."

David Wax then took the victim by cab to a Lakewood Sovereign Bank ATM, where he withdrew $800, the attorney general's office said. During the car ride, David Wax also placed a call to the victim's father in Israel and said that Y.M.B. would be killed if $100,000 was not paid to the victim's former wife, the release states.

A vehicle driven by Judy Wax then returned the victim to Brooklyn. David Wax threatened the lives of the victim and his father during the ride, according to the complaint.

Authorities said that the kidnapping charges have a maximum penalty of life in prison. The threat charge against David Wax carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Davenport is representing the government. David Wax has retained Mitchell J. Ansell of Ocean as his counsel, while Judy Wax has employed Steven Secare of Toms River.